




EDWIN THOMAS REED 





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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



L Y R 1 C, S 

By EDWIN THOMAS REED 

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THE PHILOSOPHER 

At The Sign of The Green 
WAUSAU, Wise 



PRESS 

Pine Tree 

O N S I N 



THE LIBRARY OF 

CONGRESS. 
Two Copies Received 



MAR. 22 1901 

CoPYRtOMT ENTRV 






COPY 3. 



JC^ZS3- 






!»•-»» 



1 a ^.0 



« * ; t; » 



Of this edition of Lyhcs by Edwin Thomas Reed 
one hundred copies on Dickinson handmade 
paper were privately printed for the author at 
The Philosopher Press, Wausau, Wisconsin. 



Copyfighted MDCCCC by Edwin Thomas Reed. 



IN SEASON 
To all who hefe in season read. 
May merry Christmas come indeed, — 
The swifter heart, the sweeter spell. 
The music of the chiming bell. 
The bursting stockings swinging free 
At morning from the mantle-tree ; 
A glowing hearth, a wreath of green. 
Such love as girt the Nazarene, 
A bunch of toys, a guest or two, 
A Santa Claus in the chimney flue ! 



THE SONS OF UNCLE SAM 




HERE are valiant English Tommies 

On the scorching Indian sands. 
There are saucy English Jacks afloat 
To guard Old England's lands ; 
There are Dutchmen down in Ladysmith 

Of the stern old fighting stamp. 
There are Russians up in Finland 

Where the Northland lights her lamp; 
There are Germans in Samoa, 
And Scotchmen at Bombay ; 
But I sing of a brighter fighting man 
And a livelier lad than they — 



Of a luckier, pluckier fighting man. 

And a merrier man, I say. 
Of a wittier, grittier fighting man. 

And a blither boy than they. 
He's a cool, colleded soldier. 

Who does his country's will. 
Who held his ground at Concord 

And his fire at Bunker Hill. 
Who chased the lordly Spaniards 

From Morro's frowning brow. 
And is chasing Aguinaldo 

As I write these verses now ; 
He's a fearless, peerless warrior. 

Willing to dare and do, — 
A champion of the colors — 

A patriot, through and through, 
A friend to toil and freedom. 




A foe to cant and sham — 
A soldier of the Republic, 
And a son of Uncle Sam ! 

ND the soldiers of the Republic, 
On many a fiery field 
Have toiled and bled and conquered. 

By fiercer purpose steeled — 
By fiercer purpose armored. 

And holier ardor swayed. 
Than the heavy-handed foemen 

Who felt their crashing blade. 
And the seamen of the Republic — 

Oh, every sea that runs 
Has thrilled beneath their plunging keels. 

And trembled at their guns ; 
From Jones upon the Ranger 



In the dashing days of old. 
Who swept the English Channel 

And thundered his message bold ; 
From the dauntless young Decatur, 

Treading the Chesapeake 
Beneath the walls of Tripoli, 

A swift revenge to seek ; 
From Perry on Lake Erie, 

And Farragut at Mobile, 
Down to our newest heroes 

Who man the ships of steel, — 
Down to our valiant-hearted Schley, 

Our Clark and Fighting Bob, 
Who struck the foe that came to strike. 

And wrecked who came to rob — 
Down to our May-day Dewey, 

The stanchest of them all. 



Who won the eastern ocean 

And wrought Manila's fall. 
These are our Yankee soldiers. 

Cunning and tried and true. 
These are our Yankee seamen. 

Bonniest boys in blue. 
The guards of the larger empire. 

First in the battle's jam — 
The knights of the newer nation. 

The sons of Uncle Sam ! 

ND the Soldiers of the Republic, 
In the gloom of 'Sixty-one, 
Obeyed the bugle blast from heaven. 

And cried "Thy will be done — 
Thy will be done, Jehovah, 

Though the bravest should be bled. 




Though the heights be winged with whirlwinds 

And the battle vales be red/' 
And the soldiers of the Republic, — 

They worked Jehovah's will 
From Bethel Church to Petersburg, 

Pea Ridge to Malvern Hill; 
They worked His will at Shiloh, 

Where the rebel flag and gun. 
So insolent at daybreak. 

Vanished at set of sun. 
And only the twilight wailings. 

And the rush of a great retreat. 
Succeeded the roll of Dixie 

That the rebel drums had beat. 
They fought with Grant at Vicksburg, 

With Hooker, stormed at Lee, 
Followed the stars with Sherman 



Through Georgia to the sea. 
They fought at fierce South Mountain, 

The blue line, long and thin 
Captured the wall and held it 

In the battle's heat and din. 
In the cornfield at Antietam 

They fought from dawn till dusk. 
Reaping a nobler harvest 

Than the harvest of the husk. 
But who shall tell how gayly 

Lee's tattered troops came down. 
Crowding the pikes of Gettysburg 

And winding up to town; 
And how the brave young Reynolds, 

In the face of the hosts in gray. 
Called up the Union forces. 

And galloping, led the way 



Straight on their hooting vanguard. 

When, like a mark, alone. 
Death smote him from a hundred guns 

And claimed him for his own. 
But, oh ! the valiant charging 

In serried lines of blue. 
When Cutler's and the Iron Brigade 

Grappled that yelling crew. 
While from the heights, Ned Armstrong, 

Fighting with Battery ''B'', 
Pounded the lightning canister 

Into that rebel sea. 
And who shall pen the tempest 

That thundered, corps on corps. 
From Gulp's Hill back to Round Top 

And turned the tide of war ; — 
That broke the charge of Early, 



Withering, as it came 
On up the fearful southern slope 

Through hurricanes of flame ; 
That nerved the arm of Hancock, — 

Stemming the rebel blight 
Of Pickett and of Pettigrew, — 

To hold the trembling height. 
And who shall tell how grandly 

The brave in blue went down. 
Pouring their life-blood out in prayer 

Upon that raging crown — 
In prayer that high Jehovah, 

As He offered up the Lamb, 
Would take, for His own purpose. 

The sons of Uncle Sam. 



And the soldiers of the Republic 

In the golden 'Ninety-eight, 
The gray and blue together 

Challenged the will of Fate ; 
Shoulder to brother's shoulder. 

In foreign fields and old. 
They bound their broken friendship 

With hoops of beaten gold; 
Shoulder to brother's shoulder. 

In fever and in flame. 
They stilled the wild accusers 

That thundered at our name ; 
Bore up the flag of honor. 

Bore down with trampling feet 
The minions of oppression. 

Who harried field and street ; 
Bore up the starry banner 




And fought for its flowing folds. 
With the eager breath that smiles at death 
In the gallant hope it holds. 

|HEY fought with fighting Roosevelt, 
Rough-riders, following fast. 
Where the battery smoke of San Juan broke 

Upon them like a blast. 
•'Forward, — the charge!'' and Roosevelt, 

The sunlight on his blade, ^ 

Burst into the hail-swept clearing. 

Heading the charge they made. 
While out of the tufted palm trees 

And down from the crackling crest. 
The rifles rang and the bullets sang. 

Spitefully piercing the breast. 
And men fell down with writhing. 



Crinkled and fell like grain, — 
The brave from the south savannah. 

The bold from the western plain,— 
Yet on and ever upward 

The steed of Roosevelt tore. 
And up and ever onward 

His volleying soldiers bore. 
When lo, with a droop and shiver. 

The good steed plunged and fell — 
Fell with the valiant colonel 

Who rode that day so well; 
But only a breathless instant 

The fearful charge was stayed. 
Only a moment's anxious pause 

The dauntless colonel made ; 
And then with a princely gesture. 

And a glance upon his men. 



He boldly strode as once he rode. 

Charging the heights again. 
And the Spaniards, awed and shaken. 

Swarmed from the hill and fled, — 
Fled from the towering block-house 

And from the trenches red. 
And there in the mellow morning 

The color-sergeant stood. 
In bold relief beside his chief 

Against the smoke-hung wood ; 
And round them, maimed but cheering. 

Bleeding, but hostile still. 
Lords of a dear-bought battlefield. 

Heirs of a new-found hill. 
Crowding and hoarse with triumph. 

Where their silken colors swam. 



Stood the soldiers of the Republic, 
The sons of Uncle Sam. 



I OR the soldiers of the Republic, 
^ Are Nature's cherished heirs. 
The distant treasuries of the deep. 

The flowering isles are theirs; 
By right of better ruling. 

By dint of sterner worth. 
They gather in the strangers. 

They colonize the earth. 
And wheresoever they journey. 

They sow the seeds of peace. 
Making the fields to blossom 

With the wealth of their increase ; 
And wheresoever they tarry 

Lo, — the smokes of trade arise 



Like clouds of pleasant incense 

To the holy morning skies. 
And do you sigh for order 

And the calm of better days? — 
Make haste, and give them welcome 

For they walk in righteous ways. 
And would you stand for honor. 

And would you stand for law? — 
Then stand with the blue-clad soldiers 

And the flag they hold in awe ; 
But mark ! if your paths are crooked. 

And ye play unhallowed tunes. 
Beware, beware of the justice 

Of the striding, blue platoons I 



COLUMB IAS WAKING 




HE nation slept, though every gale 
Was loud with Cuba's piteous wail; 
She slept, while winds across her bore 
The hot breath of unholy war. 
She slept — too long — as Britian slept 
When sad Armenia sobbed and wept. 
Too long, — the red Castilian brand 
Made desolate all the smiling land. 
She slept, alas, with countenance cold. 
As slept Judea's hosts of old 
Ere through her templed towns was heard 
The Galillean's God-like word. 




Or yet He proved on Calvary's cross 
Divinest gain is deepest loss. 
And with His great, sad sacrifice, 
OpeM wide the slumbering people's eyes. 

!0 sank the Maine ; but with the shock 
Gushed streams of pity from the rock. 
Columbia stirred herself; she woke. 
With bloodless lips at length she spoke : 
"Ye wolves and lions, lo, by these, 
I charge you get you over seas — 
Begone, ere yet the cannon's breath 
Hurl back your hurricanes of death. 
By timorous Cuba, sore dismayed. 
By her fair cities lowly laid. 
By all you pillaged, all you burned. 
By all the grace you never learned. 



By yonder warship in the bay, 

A lifeless hulk, already gray. 

By those blue-coated boys laid low, 

I charge you, aye, I charge you — go/' 



i^Mi firm Marines, 'twas yours to wake 
i^^^i Columbia's guns for Cuba's sake. 
Stout boys in blue, your kindling death 
Shall give her still the full, free breath: 
Good, calm, true men — your brothers all 
Flocked to average your sudden fall. 
And neath the bright stripes of the free 
Smite treachery from the rolling sea. 




THE RED CROSS COMES 

;AKEway! along tKe crackling lines 
Afootstep falters, aRedCross shines; 
And under the palm trees, mounting 
high, 
A pitying presence hastens by; 
It stops by the thicket, it kneels by the stone. 
It bends its steps to the breath of a moan; 
It stirs the bugles and ruffles the drums — 
Make way ! the Red Cross angel comes ! 



^ AKE way ! The angry cannon's breath 
^Isshrillwiththesinging sickle of death: 



It halts not her; — at the head of the line 



Her cross gleams red, and lo, at tKe sign 
A lull comes down where batteries crashed, 
A pause where volleying trenches flashed — 
*'What ho!'' the trumpet calls to the drums, 
"Make way, a pitying angel comes/' 



^ 1 ^ AKE way! in Mercy's name make way! 
j^l^y A hero faints in the thick of the fray — 
Would ye stay his hope of a last good cheer? 
Make way, a nation's pity is near, 
A healing pity that understands. 
That speaks in the stroke of two swift hands. 
Would ye hold its aid from hearts that bleed? 
Make way ! the Red Cross comes at need. 



^ AKE way, ye friends and faltering foes, 
^^^^Abalmshe brings for your mutual woes. 
She reads your ills by the light o' the stars. 
Your bread she brings to the prison bars; 
Her guards are they of the shadowy mien. 
The ghostly hosts of the Nazarene, 
Her walks — the ways of the troops are they. 
Make way! In the name of the Cross, make wayl 



A TOAST 



Given at a Reunion of the Twin City Phi Psis in Minnesota Beta's Chapter 
House on the Seventh Celebration of Founder's Day. 

bannered house, a little bit 
Of frozen lawn enclosing it, 
A banquet hall, a flowered board, 
A feast of wit and viands toward ; 
Of young and old a fine array — 
I wish you well on Founder's Day. 





wish you well, for 'tis to you, 
O older Betas, tried and true. 
We owe the debt that we at all 




Still loiter in this friendly hall. 

And that these lights for years have shone 

On things we've loved to call our own. 

wish you well, that first and last 
Your hands were firm, your hearts 
were fast; 

For of this loyal fabric you 

Are still the stancher souls and true — 

You are the warp and golden woof. 

Ye pioneers that reared the roof. 

ND who of those lusty blades are here 
Tosmoke the pipe and sound the cheer; 
Who but the bland and watchful Tim 
With Dick and Purdy along with him, — 
Bold blades, and quite to your heart's desire 
To spin the yarn or to pull the wire ! 





[E have, besides, a Hall of Wit 
Whose spice was ever sweet and fit. 
Whose humor lifts us all, I ween. 
Upon the heights of things unseen. 
Whose every witty thrust and probe 
Was one time felt throughout the Globe ! 

UT here's to you who lightly wield 
The active arm beneath the shield. 
Who with blithe limb and blither grace 
Win out the brief and bitter race. 
And battling ever, bear along 
The plaudits of the passive throng. 

ND here's to you whose graces tell 
In walks and ways convivial. 
Whose wayward songs and charms beguile 






The sad earth till she leap and smile. 
Or make her sullen bulk to roll 
With peals of laughter from the soul. 

|ND here, ah, here's to you no less 
Who play your parts with bashfulness ; 
Who with deft fingers deftly trace 
The fleeting thought, the airy face. 
Or make the forum's walls resound 
With thoughts that echo, words that bound ! 

ND here's the toast to one and all. 
Ye Phi Psis in the Phi Psi hall. 
Who with the gallant heart and soul 
Shall compass and command the goal. — 
Choose others what they will ; for me, 
A banquet and a Phi Psi glee ! 




LITTLE SISTER HAZEL-EYES 




|ITTLE sister Hazel-Eyes, 
Radiant with rapt surprise. 
Springing gayly to our arms 

With your softly crooned alarms. 

Who can fancy, who can guess. 

All your wealth of tenderness 

All the latent love you give 

With your glance intuitive. 

Are you all so wondrous wise. 

Little sister Hazel-Eyes? 




ITTLE sister Hazel-Eyes, 
When the summer blossoms rise. 



Out along the hall you go. 
Through the garden, to and fro. 
There to roam from urn to urn. 
Longing for a loved return. 
Listening where a shadow falls 
For an answer to your calls : 
Angels only hear your cries. 
Little sister Hazel-Eyes. 

[ITTLE sister Hazel-Eyes 
With your thoughts beyond the skies. 
Where the mother spirit smiles 
Down the long celestial aisles. 
Dreaming still, with thankfulness. 
Of your last divine caress 
As your childish lips inquired: 
''Mother, mother, are you tired?'' 





Ahl you could not then surmise. 
Little sister Hazel-Eyes! 

[ITTLE sister Hazel-Eyes, — 
Through his sobbing and his sighs, 
Lo, the father sees in you 
Mother's sweetness, through and through. 
Mother's laughter, mother's fears. 
Mother's tenderness and tears; 
All her gentle graces shine 
In those pleasant ways of thine. 
Hark ! she speaks in your replies. 
Little sister Hazel-Eyes. 



THE EVANISHMENT OF DOLLY 




|AS anyone seen Dolly ? 

She tripped across the green 
At sunset, unattended. 
And hasn^t since been seen. 




HE wore a skirt of worsted, 
A sweater, very red, 
A pair of Oxfords on her feet, 
A gray hat on her head. 




ER hair is like the twilight. 
Her face is like the flowers. 




That sparkle on the placid lake 
Or in the woodland bowers ; 

|ER gait is smooth and stately, — 
A yacht upon the sea 
Is not so light as Dolly, 
So frolicksome as she. 

|HE was fond of candied ginger. 
And fond of ginger ale. 
Fond of ginger cookies. 
And of ginger in the gale : 

N fad she swore by ginger, — 
There was ginger in her lips. 
And ginger in her roguish eye 
And in her finger tips. 






|IS strange she should have left us 
At nightfall, all alone; 
We gave her every murmured wish. 
We loved her as our own. 



y^^ HE idol of all hearts was she, 
^i^^i The darling of the camp ; — 
O sirs, the night is falling chill. 
The evening dews are damp. 




[AS anyone seen Dolly ! 

Ye gods! Will no one speak. 
The chaperone is crazy. 
The girls are pale as teak. 




ILL no one dare to call her 

Or whistle through his thumbs: 




She may be drowned, or drowning, oh,- 
The devil! There she comes. 

|HE comes, as gay as summer. 
And pray sirs, who is that. 
Who strolls and smiles beside her. 
So leisure-like and fat? 

low bless me, but it's Freeman; 
And, sirs, upon my head, 
rU to the chaperone at once 
And have 'em off to bed. 




THE FALLING CURTAIN 



HE camp is done, her season past. 
Her cheerful doors must close at last. 
And here we sit, true hearts and stout. 
To see her glimmering fires go out. 




y^^ HE stars but dimly dot the sky, 
^^gal The circling woods all darkling lie. 
And round the camp-fire's blazing line 
How bright the soft-eyed faces shine- 





shoreward shout, and answering cheer. 
The low-droned voices drawing near. 
And into the fire-lit circle break 
The last few stragglers from the lake. 

song, a song,'' the cry goes round; 

The soft guitar wakes into sound. 
And Chat and Greaton take the tune 
Like quavering nightingales in June. 

HE Suwanne River, Sweet and Low, 
iThese are the tunes whose numbers flow. 

The old, old songs, the first to swell, __ : 

Startling the stillness of the dell. 



HEN merrier tunes, as Just one Girl, 
My Rag Time Lady in the whirl, — 






Gay airs to gladden laughing eyes 
Softened by low-sung lullabyes. 

ND then in mellowing accents dear 
The Song at Twilight greets the ear. 
In air so sweet, in feeling fine. 
It quickens the listening heart like wine. 

NDnow while flickering embers glance. 
See willowy Constance in the dance. 
Her feet so light, so smooth to swing 
They shame the swifter swallow's wing. 




^^^1 R hark to Cymbra or to Lou 



Reading some lovely lyric through. 
Whose music moves the wildest heart 
Till sudden tears or laughter start. 



ND look you now, the figures seen 
^^1^ Treading the cake-walk on the green. 
In smiling frenzy, pair by pair. 
Tripping their graceful measures there. 



1^^ R faith I if you should tire of that 
^^^^A Behold the fair-haired acrobat 



Kicking his heels in wondrous wise. 
Or using his toes to wipe his eyes. 




ND now the brightest number yet^ — 
The fieriest thing I ever met — 
A Catherine wheel in human guise 
Taking the wildwood by surprise. 




ROM out the flames with either hand 
Snatching in haste a burning brand. 




The darling Will, with mighty swings. 
Circles his head with fiery rings. 

ND lo, from off their golden arcs 
In showery torrents stream the sparks. 

Shedding about the swinger's form 

The radiance of a fiery storm. 

|UT he, the deft performer, stands 
Twirling with ease his flaming brands. 
His figure sketched in lines of light 
Against the background of the night. 

ND note how every briefer pause 
Is stirred with storms of wild applause. 
How every listener round the blaze 
Throws out his smiling word of praise. 





S^^HESE friendly faces! when shall they 
i^^3 Meet in a scene more grandly gay. 
These loyal hearts, for me, for you. 
When shall they beat with fire so true ! 



m^^ HEN here's a health to one and all 
l^^^i In this blue-ceiled and star-lit hall, 
A health of friendship and farewell 
To all beneath the wildwood's spell. 

ND lo, when memory's fond review 
Calls up, mid scenes and seasons new. 

The sweet friends in this fire-lit line 

May I, too, in that circle shine I 




So here then endeth Lyrics of 
Edwin Thomas Reed. Printed by 
Helen Bruneau VanVechten for 
VanVechten 6 Ellis, at the Philosopher 
Press, Wausau, Wisconsin, at the 
Sign of The Green Pine Tree, and 
finished the 28th day of November 
of the year 1900. 



//T// 



1901 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

lltillillllllilllliiilil 

018 349 720 



EDWIN THOMAS REED 



